Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 120 as follows:
Applicant states that this application is a continuation or divisional application of the prior-filed application. A continuation or divisional application cannot include new matter. Applicant is required to delete the benefit claim or change the relationship (continuation or divisional application) to continuation-in-part because this application contains the following matter not disclosed in the prior-filed application.
The prior filed applications (18408926 17679523 16877892) fail to provide support for the claim limitation of: a controller configured to, when multiple players bet chips in the same reading area, in response to betting chips whose ID information is read by the chip reading device as betting chips placed on the game table and payment chips whose ID information is read by the chips reading device as chips paid for the betting chips no longer being read by the chip reading device at the same time, or in response to the betting chips and the payment chips being read by the chip reading device at the same time, pair the betting chips and the payment chips and associate the information of the owner of the betting chip with the information of the player determined by the player identification device as a player of betting the betting chips.
There is no description of that a controller determines if the betting chips and the paid chips are no longer read by the chip reading device at the same time. There is no description of that a controller determines that the betting chips and the paid chips are read by the chip reading device at the same time. There is no description of the frequency or duration in which the chip reading device reads any of the chips. There is no description of paring the betting chips and the payment chips and associating the information of the owner of the betting chip with the information of the player determined by the player identification as a player of betting the betting chips based on when the chips are read.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required:
Assuming this application should be treated as a continuation-in-part (see above for changing the status of the application to a continuation-in-part), the claims as filed in the original specification are part of the disclosure and therefore, if an application as originally filed contains a claim disclosing material not disclosed in the remainder of the specification, the applicant may amend the specification to include the claimed subject matter. In re Benno, 768 F.2d 1340, 226 USPQ 683 (Fed. Cir. 1985). See MPEP 2163.06 for details.
The specification fails to teach the claim limitation of a controller configured to, when multiple players bet chips in the same reading area, in response to betting chips whose ID information is read by the chip reading device as betting chips placed on the game table and payment chips whose ID information is read by the chips reading device as chips paid for the betting chips no longer being read by the chip reading device at the same time, or in response to the betting chips and the payment chips being read by the chip reading device at the same time, pair the betting chips and the payment chips and associate the information of the owner of the betting chip with the information of the player determined by the player identification device as a player of betting the betting chips.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
It is noted that the current application is a continuation. Assuming this application should be treated as a continuation, claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement
Regarding claim 1, the specification fails to provide support for the claim limitation of, “a controller configured to, when multiple players bet chips in the same reading area, in response to betting chips whose ID information is read by the chip reading device as betting chips placed on the game table and payment chips whose ID information is read by the chips reading device as chips paid for the betting chips no longer being read by the chip reading device at the same time, or in response to the betting chips and the payment chips being read by the chip reading device at the same time, pair the betting chips and the payment chips and associate the information of the owner of the betting chip with the information of the player determined by the player identification device as a player of betting the betting chips.
There is no description of that a controller determines if the betting chips and the paid chips are no longer read by the chip reading device at the same time. There is no description of that a controller determines that the betting chips and the paid chips are read by the chip reading device at the same time. There is no description of the frequency or duration in which the chip reading device reads any of the chips. There is no description of paring the betting chips and the payment chips and associating the information of the owner of the betting chip with the information of the player determined by the player identification as a player of betting the betting chips based on when the chips are read.
The closest description is paragraphs 42-43 and 191 (published specification). Paragraph 42-43 and 191 discloses the following.
[0042] In a case where a plurality of players place bet chips, and there are two or more stacks of the bet chips in the same player position, the chip reader 1002 collectively reads the game tokens 1001 placed on the chip placement area 1025. Thus, during a game, the chip reader 1002 acquires an ID 1010 of the bet game tokens without determining which game token 1001 belongs to which player. When payment is to be made to a winning player after determination of a win/loss result of the game, the dealer pays out to each winning player (for each stack) from the chip tray 1009. A game token 1001 removed from the chip tray 1009 is placed on a chip placement area 1025. The chip reader 1002 reads an ID 1011 of the payout chip placed on the chip placement area 1025.
[0043] The winning player receives the paid out game token 1001 together with the originally bet game token 1001. At this time, because the bet chip and the payout chip transfer outside the chip placement area 1025, an ID of the bet chip and an ID of the payout chip disappear from the reading result by the chip reader 1002. With this arrangement, the controller 1003 determines to which player the payout chip has been paid by associating with the owner information of the bet chip.
[0191] The case in which there is one chip or one chip stack to which payout chip is to be paid in an area of one chip reader 25 includes a case in which there was one chip or one chip stack to which payout chip is to be paid in the area at a timing of betting and a case in which there was a plurality of chip stacks at a timing of betting but only one stack remained in the course of proceeding with payout. Only the remaining one bet chip stack may be paired with the payout chip to be associated with the owner information. In this case, by treating the remaining one bet chip stack as the chip bet by the member, tracing of chips of members can be ensured. It is preferable that, only one member player may bet at each chip reader (e.g., each player position) and a plurality of non-member players may bet at each chip reader. In the case where there is one member player for each player position, since the chip and the owner are associated with each other, the information of the member player assigned for each player position can be determined from the information of the bet chip. Also, if there is a rule that a member player shall bet a chip prior to a non-member player, the first bet chip may be associated with the member player information assigned to the player position (e.g., sitting at the player position 1), or such an association may be confirmed. A member card may be used to assign member players to player positions.
The specification discloses when the payment is made, and a time in which the bet chip and payout chips are transferred outside the chip placement area. The specification also discloses that the controller determines which player the payout chip has been paid by associating with the owner information of the bet chip. The remaining bet chip stack may be paired with the payout chip to be associated with the owner information. However, there is no description of the time in which each of the chips are read. The time in which a chip is placed or moved is not the same as the time in which the chip is read. There is no description of determining if the paid chips and bet chips is no longer read at the same time or if it was read at the same time. There is no description of pairing or associating chips based on when the paid chips and bet chips were read at the same time or stop being read at the same time.
Claims 3-4 are rejected by dependency.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/15/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
35 USC 112a
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. With respect to the claim limitation, of, “a controller configured to, when multiple players bet chips in the same reading area, in response to betting chips whose ID information is read by the chip reading device as betting chips placed on the game table and payment chips whose ID information is read by the chips reading device as chips paid for the betting chips no longer being read by the chip reading device at the same time, or in response to the betting chips and the payment chips being read by the chip reading device at the same time, pair the betting chips and the payment chips and associate the information of the owner of the betting chip with the information of the player determined by the player identification device as a player of betting the betting chips, the specification fails to describe that a controller determines if the betting chips and the paid chips are no longer read by the chip reading device at the same time. There is no description of that a controller determines that the betting chips and the paid chips are read by the chip reading device at the same time. There is no description of the frequency or duration in which the chip reading device reads any of the chips. There is no description of paring the betting chips and the payment chips and associating the information of the owner of the betting chip with the information of the player determined by the player identification as a player of betting the betting chips based on when the chips are read.
First, the claim recites, “a controller configured to, when multiple players bet chips in the same reading area, in response to betting chips whose ID information is read by the chip reading device as betting chips placed on the game table and payment chips whose ID information is read by the chips reading device as chips paid for the betting chips no longer being read by the chip reading device at the same time”.
Applicant note that the specification states that "the controller is configured to be able to recognize that the bet chip of a winning player and the payout chip paid out to the winning player are transferred to outside the chip placement area, and associate, in a database, ID information of the payout chip with ID information of the bet chip transferred to outside of the chip placement area at the same timing as the payout chip." Spec. T [0007]. Furthermore, the specification states an operational consequence of this: "because the bet chip and the payout chip transfer outside the chip placement area 1025, an ID of the bet chip and an ID of the payout chip disappear from the reading result by the chip reader 1002." Id. 1 [0043]. A person skilled in the art would understand that if "the bet chip [is] transferred to outside of the chip placement area at the same time as the payout chip," that "disappear[ing] from the reading result by the chip reader" would be "no longer being read at the same time," as recited in claim 1. And other portions of the specification support this relationship. See, e.g., Spec. T [0192] ("In any case, the bet chip and the payout chip can be paired and the owner information and the like can be updated based on information that the chip has moved out of the area of the chip reading device 25 (that the chip cannot be read by the chip reading device 25)) ").
In contrast, the Action argues that "[t]he specification discloses of when the payment is made, and a time in which the bet chip and payout chips are transferred outside the chip placement area." Action at 8. It then concludes that "[t]he time in which a chip is placed or moved is not the same as the time in which the chip is read." Action at 5. However, even as characterized (to which Applicant does not concede due to the cited disclosures from the specification above) a person skilled in the art would understand that, in RFID systems, any difference in time between physical movement time and system reading time is practically negligible. Thus, a person skilled in the art would still, even under this interpretation, find that the specification sufficiently demonstrates the inventor's possession of the claimed concept.
However, recognizing that the bet chip transferred to outside the chip placement area is not the same as when the chips are no longer read. For instance, it is known in the art to continually read chips throughout different locations. A processor can determine that the chip is moved out of a location even while reading the chip information. In addition, a chip reader can stop reading the chip information even when the chip is not being moved. Chip readers may scan the chips at intervals. Therefore, the chip may no longer read the chip for a predetermined time even when the chip is not moved. In addition, chips and readers may be defective and may cause the chip reader to not read the chip information. One of ordinary skilled in the art would not interpret a determination that the chip is moved outside a specific area is the same as the chip is no longer read.
Second, there is no support to the claim limitation of, “in response to the betting chips and the payment chips being read by the chip reading device at the same time, pair the betting chips and the payment chips and associate the information of the owner of the betting chip with the information of the player determined by the player identification device as a player of betting the betting chips.”
In response to this, Applicant argues that the specification states that "the bet chip and the payout chip can be paired and associated without detecting the movement of the chip out of the area of the chip reader 25." Spec. 1 [0190]. For example, "even if it is not detected that the chip has moved outside the area of the chip reading device 25, the owner information can be associated by pairing the bet chip and the payout chip based on the information in which the payout chip has been read by the chip reading device 25 on the table." Id. But this is not limited to just reading the payout chip. "In a case where a plurality of players place bet chips the chip reader 1002 collectively reads the game tokens 1001 placed on the chip placement area 1025." Spec. 1 [0042]. With the bet chips, "[w]hen payment is to be made to a winning player after determination of a win/loss result of the game, the dealer pays out to each winning player [and a] game token 1001 removed from the chip tray 1009 is placed on a chip placement area 1025." Id. With the bet chip and the payout chip in chip placement area 1025, "[t]he chip reader 1002 reads an ID 1011 of the payout chip placed on the chip placement area 1025" Id. See also FIG. 2. (showing ID 1010 of the bet game tokens and an ID 1011 of the payout chip). Because the betting chip is already placed and being read in the reading area, adding the payout chip to the same reading area to be read by the chip reading device inevitably creates a state where both the betting chip and the payout chip "are read by the chip reading device at the same time," as the Office characterizes. See Action at 5. This is further indicated by the specification, which states that "[a]t this time, because the bet chip and the payout chip transfer outside the chip placement area 1025, an ID of the bet chip and an ID of the payout chip disappear from the reading result by the chip reader 1002.' Spec. 1 [0043]. For the reading result of both the bet chip and the payout chip to disappear from being read by the chip reader due to transfer outside the area, this requires that the bet chip and payout chip were both being read prior to the transfer. Thus, for any of these reasons, a person skilled in the art would readily understand that "a controller determines that the betting chips and the paid chips are read by the chip reading device at the same time," as described by the Office. See Action at 5.
Paragraph 190 discloses the following.
[0190] If there is, in an area of one chip reader 25, one chip or one chip stack to which payout chip is to be paid, the bet chip and the payout chip can be paired and associated with owner information without detecting the movement of the chip out of the area of the chip reader 25. That is, in the case where there is one bet chip or one stack consisting of a plurality of bet chips 1001 in an area of one chip reading device 25, even if it is not detected that the chip has moved outside the area of the chip reading device 25, the owner information can be associated by pairing the bet chip and the payout chip based on the information in which the payout chip has disappeared from the chip tray or the information in which the payout chip has been read by the chip reading device 25 on the table. Of course, the bet chip may be recognized on the basis of the information that the chip has moved out of the area of the chip reading device 25, and the payout chip and the bet chip may be paired based on the owner information of the bet chip, by using some of the information among the information on the chip taken out from the chip tray, the information on the chip placed in the betting area, and the information on the chip moved out of the area of the chip reading device 25. Alternatively, the ID of the chip may be read by a RFID, and the type and the number of chips, also the identification of stacks may be recognized by cameras.
The specification discloses that the chips are paired even when the chips are not read (paragraph 190). There is no description that the betting chips and the payment chips are read at the same time
Paragraph 43 of the specification discloses the following.
[0043] The winning player receives the paid out game token 1001 together with the originally bet game token 1001. At this time, because the bet chip and the payout chip transfer outside the chip placement area 1025, an ID of the bet chip and an ID of the payout chip disappear from the reading result by the chip reader 1002. With this arrangement, the controller 1003 determines to which player the payout chip has been paid by associating with the owner information of the bet chip.
There is no description that bet chip and the payout chip are read at the same time. “Reading of the chips at the same time” is a matter of when (time) the chips are read. Paragraph 43 is directed to the determination of the chips. Not when the chips are read and reading the chips at the same time.
The office action indicates that there is no description of the frequency or duration in which the chip reading device reads any of the chips; there is no description of paring the betting chips and the payment chips and associating the information of the owner of the betting chip with the information of the player determined by the player identification as a player of betting the betting chips based on when the chips are read in order to illustrate there no teaching or suggestion of the claim limitation.
Applicant refers to paragraphs 7, 42-43, 190, 192. However, as indicated above, these limitations are directed to pairing the chips or associating information of the chips and the determination of which player the payout chip has been paid by associating an owner information with the chip. There is no description of actually when the chips are no longer read and reading the chips at the same time.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jasson H Yoo whose telephone number is (571)272-5563. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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/JASSON H YOO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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